Retailers routinely display relatively small, relatively expensive, handheld electronic merchandise, such as mobile (e.g. cellular) telephones, iPods, game consoles, personal data assistants (PDAs), and the like, for customers to examine before making a purchase. Retailers often desire the handheld electronic merchandise to be powered as well so that a potential purchaser can test the operation and functions of the merchandise. At the same time, the retailer does not want the article of merchandise to be stolen or removed from the display area by an unauthorized person. Accordingly, the article of merchandise being displayed is attached to a merchandise display security device that monitors and protects the article of merchandise from removal or theft. Such a merchandise display security device typically includes a sensor housing to which the article of merchandise is attached that houses a sensor for monitoring whether the article of merchandise remains attached to the sensor housing. In the event that the article of merchandise is detached from the sensor housing, an audible or visible alarm is activated to alert store personnel to the situation.
As such, merchandise display security devices for displaying and protecting a powered article of merchandise are known. However, the known devices are not configured to prevent the unauthorized removal or theft of a power adapter cord that provides electrical power to the merchandise. As used herein, the term “power adapter cord” is intended to include any cable, adapter (also commonly referred to as a “pigtail”) or cord containing one or more conductors for providing electrical power to a handheld electronic article of merchandise, for example a mobile (cellular) telephone. The power adapter cord functions to power the handheld electronic merchandise, or alternatively, to charge an internal battery that powers the article of merchandise in the absence of an external power source (including an internal power source of the merchandise display security device). Typically, the power adapter cord has a connector at one end configured to be mated with a male plug or female jack provided on the article of merchandise, for example a micro-USB plug or jack, and a connector at the other end configured to be mated with a male plug or female jack provided on the sensor housing.
Merchandise display security devices including a tether cable are known for monitoring and preventing the unauthorized removal or theft of an article of merchandise from a prescribed area. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,277 issued Feb. 22, 2000, to Leyden et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,498 issued Mar. 21, 2000, to Leyden et al. each disclose a merchandise display security system for displaying an article of merchandise to be monitored and protected from theft. The merchandise display security system includes a housing configured to be secured on a first surface of the article of merchandise and a stabilizing element configured to be secured on a second surface of the article that is substantially transverse to the first surface. The security device further includes a tether cable having a first end and a second end. The housing is provided with a cavity to receive an enlarged portion at the first end of the tether with the stabilizing element capturing and blocking the enlarged portion of the tether within the cavity defined by the housing. The second end of the tether may be anchored to a base, such as a support surface, or to a control unit for activating an alarm in the event that the article of merchandise is detached from the housing. The tether taught by Leyden et al., however, is used to mechanically retain the article to be monitored within a prescribed range as determined by the length of the tether, and in another embodiment, to additionally support one or more conductive elements that define conductive paths between the housing and the control unit. Thus, the tether is not a power adapter cord that electrically connects a sensor housing of a merchandise display security device with an article of merchandise attached to the sensor housing to provide electrical power to the article of merchandise.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a merchandise display security system for displaying and protecting a powered article of merchandise from theft. There exists a further, and more specific, need for a for a merchandise display security device that includes means for retaining a power adapter cord on the sensor housing. There exists a particular need for a merchandise display security device including a sensor housing configured for receiving a power adapter cord having a first end electrically connected to an article of merchandise attached to the sensor housing and a second end electrically connected to the sensor housing with the power adapter cord being retained on the sensor housing when the article of merchandise is attached to the sensor housing.